In which Lise rises from the ashes of fanfiction inactivity!
I decided I ought to do something fabulous for being gone for so long... Something that didn't include actually updating the stories that ought to be updated. Aren't I brill? No but really, I was going to do something awesome and instead you get this. 8D This is my first "published" Dragon Age fan fiction... Word prompt... Thing, so be easy, won't you? My self-esteem bar is already low as it is. :'D
Anyway, this is going to be a 30 word prompt. As in, thirty different chapters. Maybe. I haven't decided if I'm going to combine some or not. These chapters/prompts will include various pairings of varying ratings, so be forewarned! I'll alert you of the rating before the chapter begins. There will be original characters to, because I am so good at that and I don't have to worry about being out of character with them.
This chapter in particular does not have any original characters except for the Warden, who is in the particular fanfiction will be the human noble origin. Her name/etc will be explained later. Too lazy now. However, I apologize in advance for any ooc-ness that you might experience while reading this chapter; one, Sten is a bitch to analyze and get down in character writing because I'm bad at it, and two because I just love how Alistair is kind of like a puppy.
Also brief question before the chapter actually begins; does anyone know anything at all about the Qunari religion? Or if they have one? I imagine if anyone mentioned the maker to them they'd say something along the lines of "What? This is not logical stop talking to me does not compute you are stupid" only far more articulately than I just put. /8
This story is kind of un-beta'd. I read it a few times before posting it... Forgive any grammatical/spelling errors? ;w;
So I hope you enjoy the beginning of this perilous journey called the 30-Word Prompt. (: Review if you like, or send me a message - feedback makes my heart glow!
Rating: T. (Sten has mild violent thoughts about Alistair, nothing strange.)
001. LIVELY
In which Sten finds Alistair's liveliness excruciatingly bothersome.
Sten had never been one for talking much. Well, you know how that goes; when you're a practically a giant in the face of the rest of the people in camp, it usually doesn't make you viable for a striking conversation. Which he is perfectly fine with, by the by. He is a solitary creature. He is prone to be to being quiet, speaking only when required to, and trimming the edges of necessity to the barest minimum.
But Alistair - Alistair is not a solitary creature. Alistair is a social butterfly. He likes to think he is not; he likes to think he is awkward socially, but it is exactly this awkwardness that makes him so prone to talking when he really shouldn't be talking. Maybe that's just Sten's point of view - the only other person in camp who really seems to mind Alistair's chatter and less-than-amusing remarks is Morrigan, and since she pretty much dislikes everything about everyone anyway, Sten doesn't think this matters much.
When it comes to conversation, both Sten and Alistair are awkward in their own right. Alistair's is a charming sort of awkward. Sten's is the "if you don't start shutting up soon, I'm going to snap your bones in half" kind of awkward. Talking is a requirement, but not an enjoyable one.
So you can imagine, then, his great chagrin when the Warden pairs him with Alistair for the night watch one evening.
"This is unreasonable," he tells her, because he silently thinks if you would just pair me with anyone else, I wouldn't have to have this conversation. But the Warden just takes a breath and then exhales in an orderly fashion, which indicates that the conversation is over before it even really started. Under normal circumstances, Sten would have almost been relieved - but this conversation is the only one he is keen on finishing.
She walks away before he can protest more. He is stuck with Alistair for a night.
At first, things are alright; the intimidation that Sten seems to ooze from his pores is enough to keep Alistair quiet. But as the night wears on, the young Warden begins to get more comfortable, and then approaches the heinous task of striking up a conversation with the otherwise silent Qunari.
"Do you think that the Darkspawn are clever enough to wait?" He asks after a while. "I mean, think about it - they're in these forests, aren't they? And we're not that hard to locate. Strategically, our camp isn't placed at the most brilliant spot. If there were enough of them, wouldn't they just attack us?"
"I don't know," Sten replies. "You're asking me to explain the behavior of a pestilence?"
Alistair laughs, clearly not bothered by the dry and brittle tone in which Sten is speaking - again, under normal circumstances, this would have been a clear warning sign to shut up, but unfortunately Alistair is too wrapped up in his thoughts to notice.
"You know, you're actually quite witty, Sten! I wouldn't have pegged you as the humorous type - more like the, ah, killing type? Please stop looking at me like that - but it's good to see you have a funny side."
More like the "I'm going to strangle you before the night is up" type, Sten thinks, and he knows this is going to be the longest night of his life.
Dawn creeps over the sky within hours. The longest damned hours Sten has ever experienced, but hours nonetheless. They felt like ages. Alistair only seemed to get more chatty as the night ensued, and his patience was just beginning to wear thin when the blonde says, "Look, dawn! Time to wake everyone up!"
Sten sends thanks to no one in particular. He stands and is eternally grateful for his boundless patience that night - though many times he debated stuffing Alistair's mouth full of weeds to shut him up - and instead manages to give Alistair a nod to indicate that their conversation is finished.
"How did it go?" the Warden asks, her brow arched delicately as she looks between them. Alistair answers for the both of them.
"Excellently! Sten and I should be paired for night watches more often, I think."
Sten looks at the Warden. She regards him warily.
"Please don't," is all he offers in explanation, and Alistair might have looked crushed if he wasn't so perplexed.
"But I thought we were getting along?"